Las Vegas Sands Corp. $LVS Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS) by 2,655.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 878,022 shares of the casino operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 846,155 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.13% of Las Vegas Sands worth $57,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 410.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,167,553 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $277,963,000 after buying an additional 4,154,753 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 2nd quarter worth $134,179,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,454,013 shares of the casino operator’s stock worth $293,371,000 after buying an additional 1,660,823 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 64.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,819,128 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $151,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Las Vegas Sands by 4,504.2% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,028,808 shares of the casino operator’s stock valued at $55,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,463 shares during the last quarter. 39.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Las Vegas Sands

In other news, CEO Patrick Dumont sold 60,165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.75, for a total value of $3,294,033.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 511,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,028,824.50. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Las Vegas Sands Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of LVS opened at $54.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.82. The stock has a market cap of $36.87 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.88. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a 12 month low of $30.18 and a 12 month high of $70.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.58, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The casino operator reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a return on equity of 91.40% and a net margin of 12.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Las Vegas Sands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Las Vegas Sands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Las Vegas Sands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LVS. Barclays set a $64.00 price target on Las Vegas Sands in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Las Vegas Sands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.50 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Las Vegas Sands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.55.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) is a global developer and operator of integrated resorts, focused on large-scale properties that combine casino gaming with hotels, convention and exhibition facilities, retail, dining, and entertainment. The company’s operations center on developing and managing full-service resort complexes that serve both leisure and business travelers, with emphasis on convention and trade-show business in addition to gaming revenue streams.

The company’s portfolio has included prominent properties in North America and Asia, most notably The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, along with a significant presence in Macau through multiple integrated resorts.